Thyroid And Diet

Thyroid hormonal secretion plays a significant role in regulating your metabolism as shown in various studies. Thyroid hormones help to control your growth and metabolism. As a result, people who suffer from thyroid experience tiredness, weight gain, hair loss, cold and many more symptoms.

A combination of all the essential nutrients along with medication can help restore the healthy functioning of the thyroid and lessen its symptoms. Let’s take a look at the recommended diet for hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.

Hyperthyroidism Diet

Hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid can accelerate your body’s metabolism rapidly leading to unexpected weight loss, sweating, irregular heartbeat, irritability, and nervousness. Here are the foods to include and avoid in your diet to retain your healthy body functioning.

Foods To Include

Flax seeds contain a significant amount of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids have an important role to play in normalizing the function of the thyroid gland, and therefore, it must be included in the diet.

Calcium-rich foods such as parsley, fresh turnip, almonds and other nuts are another good option to include in your diet. These foods will help prevent osteoporosis that commonly occurs in the cases of hyperthyroidism.

Few of the root vegetables like rutabagas and turnips contain a substance called thioglucosides which inhibits the absorption of iodine in your body and help you with managing overactive thyroid.

Lemon balm herb helps to stabilize an overactive thyroid. Including lemon balm in the diet will block the activity of antibodies, stimulating the thyroid gland and hence, stabilize the thyroid activity to a healthy level.

Blugweed herb helps in reducing the excessive production of thyroid hormones in hyperthyroidism. Take a cup of boiling water and add half a teaspoon of blugweed in it, let it steep for at least two minutes, then strain and drink it warm.

Foods To Avoid

Too much seaweeds like kombu, hiziki, arame, wakame and any other seaweeds might be harmful if you’re suffering from thyroid. Though they are rich in essential minerals, they also contain significant levels of iodine. And too much of iodine can make your hyperthyroidism worse. Moreover, too much of iodized sea salt should be avoided as well.

Trans fats, also known as hydrogenated oil or vegetable oil is extremely harmful. Trans fats are generally found in processed or commercially made foods like crackers, cookies, chips, and doughnuts. Avoiding such foods will help reduce hyperthyroidism symptoms.

Sugar, caffeinated beverages, and refined carbohydrates should be avoided under the condition of hyperthyroidism. Rather try eating the whole grains like quinoa, brown rice, oats and buckwheat.

Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, and kale must be eaten in moderation as they are packed with goitrogens which block the thyroid hormonal synthesis.

Potential allergens such as soy, corn, dairy products, and chemical food additives must be avoided at all costs.

Hypothyroidism And Diet

Hypothyroidism a state in which thyroid hormones are least produced enough causing issues in the body like weight gain, menstrual changes in women, poor ability to tolerate cold and feelings of tiredness.

Energy bars, soy products, and GMO foods may hinder your cell receptors and disrupt your hormonal and endocrine system. In addition, miso or tamari can be the exceptions as they are fermented foods, aging between one or two years.

Any inflammatory food that triggers the autoimmune responses should be avoided. It varies from person to person. You might be able to know which foods trigger inflammation and which do not. Try to avoid foods that cause inflammation as much as you can.

Since gluten is a compound of gliadin and glutelin proteins, a similar molecular structure like a thyroid gland, so when the immune system signals for the destruction of the gluten molecules, it not only demolishes the protein gliadin but also attacks the thyroid tissue affecting the secretion of the thyroid hormone. The gluten from refined flour is worse than any other food.

Over to you

A properly followed diet is as important as medication. So, make sure you take care of your diet and follow the guidelines mentioned in the blog.

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"At Nmami Life, the meaning of good health is a combination of nutrition and fitness, which are essential to your well-being."
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Nmami Agarwal

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